On June 18, 1976, the East Area Rapist's first attack occurred
at 4:00am on Paseo Drive in Rancho Cordova, CA. Within 6 months,
7 additional attacks were committed by the same man. As rumors
of the rapes spread through the affected communities, the Sacramento
Sheriff's Department asked the news media not to report on the
rapes and give them time to catch the rapist. 33 years later,
the EAR and now the ONS remains unidentified.

By November of 1976, the East Area Rapist struck twice
in one day in neighborhoods near each other but on opposite
sides of the American River. One rape occurred in the
affluent section of Del Dayo reportedly near the home
of a newspaper editor. The Sacramento Sheriff's Department
held neighborhood meetings in part to inform worried
citizens of the threat and in part to dispel rumors
that were running rampant and contributing to the climate
of fear.

By April of 1977, over 15 attacks by the ski masked rapist
occurred and the Sacramento Sheriff's Department was no
closer to catching him. The news reports always made mention
of the rapists m.o. of attacking women while they were
alone. That all changed on April 2, 1977. The East Area
Rapist attacked his first couple.

On May 17, 1977, the EAR pushed Sacramento County into
a state of panic, bordering on hysteria. After raping
his 23rd victim, the EAR threatened to kill his next two
victims. The EAR now verbalized a propensity for violence
that law enforcement always suspected was there. The Sacramento
Sheriff's Department in response to overwhelming pressure
from the public, held a news conference and released an
"artist's conception" of the East Area Rapist
and a criminal psychological profile.